


Those Cunning Folk Use Any Means

by ElectraCute



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bullying, Dark Arts, Family Secrets, Gen, Gossip, Hogwarts, Marauders, Marauders' Era, Nice Lucius Malfoy, Teen Angst, Young Severus Snape, teen drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-04-21 13:50:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14286294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElectraCute/pseuds/ElectraCute
Summary: When young Severus Snape arrives at Hogwarts, he is socially awkward, an easy target for bullies, fascinated by the Dark Arts, and in love with Lily Evans.Lucius Malfoy, a fifth-year prefect, takes him under his wing and, along with other older Slytherins, shows him a future where the Dark Arts could be held in reverence, making the wizarding world better, cleaner, purer.At the same time, Severus, who talks very little and observes a lot, witnesses everyday drama and gossip in Slytherin House, as well as some deeper, darker secrets.UPDATE: This fic has been discontinued since I have lost my, uhm, Snape muse? Keep in mind that it stops abruptly in Chapter 8, although it doesn't leave any plotlines incomplete.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is really an account of day-to-day life in Slytherin House (and not only), the way I imagine it, rather than a story with a specific outline; we already know the fate of pretty much everyone involved. It is told mostly from little Severus's perspective, but it isn't too Snape-centric. I'll be focusing a lot on the Black sisters, for example, as I'm greatly fascinated by them.
> 
> I was inspired to write this by the scene in Snape's memories where Lucius Malfoy welcomes him to Slytherin after his Sorting. Yes, I know that it's obvious from the very first sentence, I just wanted to say it.
> 
> If you look at everyone's ages, it generally doesn't add up; for example, Bellatrix would have graduated by the time Sirius came to Hogwarts. I just wanted to have them all there together, and so I slightly tweaked their ages - not more than a year or two, however.
> 
> One could probably point out that I've made Lucius Malfoy a lot nicer than expected. What can I say? I've tried, but I've never actually managed to hate him. Blame it on Jason Isaacs's fabulous blond wig. Besides, perhaps he hadn't always been (that) evil.
> 
> Enjoy and please leave me your reviews in the comments!
> 
> xxx

“Welcome to Slytherin! Severus, right?”

The tall boy with the sleek white-blond ponytail gave him a pat on the back as little Severus sat down at the table beside him. He looked up at him, smiling, and noticed the prefect badge gleaming on his robes.

“I’m Lucius Malfoy, Slytherin prefect.”

“Lucius, you don’t need to say that to every first-year that gets sorted into Slytherin,” said a girl sitting opposite him. “They get it already. You have the bloody badge, for Merlin’s sake.”

Lucius smiled presumptuously, then turned to face the girl who had spoken. Severus observed her; she had heavy-lidded grey eyes and a haughty look on her face. A thick french braid lay on her right shoulder, looking like it must have been rather neat before she boarded the Hogwarts Express, but now it was slowly coming undone, black curls flying in every direction, almost as if trying to escape. Lucius winked at her playfully, then turned to his right to address another girl.

“Don’t pay attention to your sister’s rude comments, Narcissa. She’s only angry at me because I won’t tell her the charm that keeps my hair so fabulous!”

The girl named Narcissa laughed and leaned her head against Lucius’s shoulder as he placed his arm around her. Silky golden locks were cascading down her back, two thin braids starting from her forehead tied with a bow right above her neck. She looked nothing like her sister, Severus thought, and he would have doubted that they were even related had it not been for those steel grey eyes, and those identical haughty looks on their faces.

“Come on, Luce,” she said, leaning into his ear, “take it easy on her. Bella is upset because she had to choose between becoming Head Girl and Quidditch captain, and Father forced her to reject the second.”

Indeed, there was a different badge on the dark-haired girl’s robes, reading _Head Girl_. She looked at it in disdain, then waved her wand at her braid, undoing it. The curls broke free and formed an untidy mane around her head, covering the badge shining on her chest.

“I am upset indeed, but that’s not the reason, Cissy, and you know it very well.”

“Oh, Bella, come _on_ ,” her sister sighed, “it doesn’t mean anything. He’s always been a little… _different_. You can’t expect that, just because he’s Sacred Twenty-Eight, he’ll be sorted into Slytherin. I mean, you saw what happened with Aunt Cedrella’s son, and with that Prewett girl he’s been dating.”

“Cedrella isn’t our aunt, and her son can be sorted into Gryffindor if he wants, but not _my cousin_.”

Severus, who had been following the conversation, let out a sigh himself. He had also just witnessed someone else sorted into Gryffindor, and that hadn’t made him very happy either. He didn’t particularly like the girl named Bella, but he could understand how she was feeling.

“What’s the matter, little one? Why the long face?” Lucius asked him as he took his plate and filled it with pork chops and sausages. “Here, this’ll cheer you up,” he said, placing the plate before him. Severus smiled reluctantly and sank his fork into one of the sausages; they did smell very enticing.

As he ate, he noticed another girl, a little further away from them. This one looked more like she should be Bella’s sister; if she obviously weren’t younger by a year or two, they could have been twins. Her hair was a little tamer, though, a little lighter in colour, but other than that she resembled her greatly. She was sitting with two other girls, apparently telling them a private story, judging from the whispering tone of her voice and the other girls’ giggles.

“You know what,” said Bella, who still seemed to be thinking about her cousin and his sorting, “I’m going to go ask Dromeda her opinion on this. I’m trying to decide whether or not I should write to Aunt Walburga.”

Narcissa was too busy staring dreamily at Lucius Malfoy to even notice her sister getting up and walking towards the other girl, the one who looked just like her. _This Dromeda must be their other sister_ , Severus concluded as he was now nibbling on one of his pork chops. He saw them having a heated discussion, the girl named Dromeda obviously eager to get rid of her sister and return to the conversation with her friends. Eventually, she got her wish and Bella returned to her seat, furious.

“Do you know what she said?! She said that he looks happy there, and to let it go! Oh, I’m so writing to Aunt Walburga about all of this.”

“Bellatrix. Relax.”

The boy who had spoken was younger than the others, about thirteen perhaps, and he was sitting on Bellatrix’s right. He had blue eyes and blond hair, almost the same shade as Narcissa’s. Next to him there were two more boys, apparently in his year as well, who were looking at him with their jaws hanging open - addressing the haughty seventh-year seemed to inspire awe among the little group.

“ _Relax_? Right, how on earth did it escape me. If I just _relax_ , things will sort out themselves. Please, Evan, leave me alone.”

But the boy named Evan continued.

“Sirius has always been a curious boy, Bella. Don’t act so surprised, I think you already knew what was going to happen. I heard Father telling Aunt Druella that this boy will end up staining the noble name of Black. Now he’ll be mingling with mudbloods in no time.”

“Uncle Silas has no business commenting on my father’s relatives. And my mother should have told him all about what happens to blood-traitors in the House of Black - they get disowned, and burnt off the family tree tapestry. That way, nobody can stain it. Anyone who attempts to do so isn’t considered a Black.”

“Do you expect that dreadful aunt of yours will blast little Sirius from the tapestry once she finds out he was put in Gryffindor?”

“Aunt Walburga _isn’t dreadful_ ,” complained Bellatrix, but Evan, Lucius, and her sister all looked at her in disbelief. “Oh, come on, Cissy, you know how much she loves you!”

“Actually, Bella, Aunt Walburga loves _you_ more than anyone else, even more than her own children, I suspect.”

“That’s not true! She simply says that I remind her of herself, back when she was my age.”

“Precisely,” said Lucius, and the other two burst out laughing. Bellatrix glared at them angrily and began to pick her food.

“Still, Bella,” said Evan, “don’t get too worked up about this. You already have one cousin in Slytherin, isn’t that enough?”

“It is very satisfactory indeed, but you are a Rosier, not a Black, and therefore not my concern. Now unless you have something interesting to say, please stop talking to me. And tell your friends to shut their mouths, because I think I saw a cornish pixie fly into Avery’s.”

One of the two boys sitting next to him covered his mouth with his hand, only to open it again and check for the pixie. Bellatrix threw her head back and laughed maliciously.

Severus was working to put the pieces together. He had heard about the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, and he assumed that the three sisters belonged to it. So did their Gryffindor cousin, whose name Severus had heard in the beginning of the Sorting: Sirius Black - it was the boy he had met on the train. This Evan was their cousin too, a maternal one, judging from what Bellatrix had just said. He thought about the Black practice of disowning family members who associated with Muggles and Muggle-borns; if the Prince family had had a similar tradition, his mother would have also been disowned for marrying a Muggle. _And she would have deserved it, too_ , he thought to himself.

“Hey, first-year,” he suddenly heard Evan’s voice, “what’s your name?”

“Severus,” he answered reluctantly.

“Severus what?”

“Snape.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Severus Snape.” The boy shook his hand. “I’m Evan Rosier, third-year. The Black sisters are my cousins - their mother is my father’s sister. And these here are my friends.”

He beckoned at the two boys beside him. Avery, who had just realized, much to his relief, that there had been no pixie in his mouth the entire time, gave him his hand too. He was a little shorter and thinner than Evan, his hair a light brown and his eyes the colour of honey.

“Victor Avery,” he introduced himself.

“Pleasure,” said Severus.

The third boy was taller than both of his friends, and larger as well. He seemed like the kind of person who would always win in a fight.

“And I’m Xanthus Mulciber,” he said in a deep voice. “Snape, right?”

Severus gulped and nodded.

“I don’t remember the Snapes being among the Sacred Twenty-Eight,” said Mulciber.

“My mother is a Prince,” he said defensively. That seemed to settle it, because the three boys said nothing else.

Severus remained silent for most of the evening, observing the older Slytherins around him; he listened to Lucius and Bellatrix have a long conversation on which Unforgivable Curse was better for getting someone to do what you want. Lucius said that it was obviously the Imperius Curse, seeing as it was literally designed for that specific purpose. Bellatrix, however, insisted that the Cruciatus Curse had better results, and besides, it was “a lot more fun”. She sounded experienced with the Dark Arts, speaking of certain spells as if she had performed them. Fascinated, Severus followed the discussion without missing a single word. Before he knew it, Headmaster Dumbledore rose from the professors’ table and announced that it was time for all of them to head straight to bed.

“First-years, follow me!” the voice of Lucius Malfoy echoed in the corridors as he led a pack of newly sorted Slytherins to the dungeons. Severus walked right beside him, and Lucius glanced at him a few times while making sure all the first-years were behind him, once even granting him an encouraging smile.

That night, Severus let the gurgling sound of the Great Lake above lull him to sleep, and dreamt of trains and robes and castles, and crimson curls falling on a green and silver scarf instead of a red and gold one.


	2. Chapter 2

Severus was just finishing his breakfast when he felt something swoop over his head.

“Duck!” said a girl next to him as another thing flew over him.

“You’d think people would train their owls to _not_ crash onto the heads of others,” he murmured as he looked up at the herd of owls flying through the Great Hall to deliver all sorts of items. Quite a few owls landed on the Slytherin table, the most impressive of them being a large grey one, covered in black stripes, with bright yellow eyes. She had three white envelopes tied around her right leg, and a red envelope tied around her left one.

“Hello, Noctua,” said Narcissa Black, caressing the owl’s head. “What have you got for us?”

She untied the three white envelopes and passed two of them to her sisters. Bellatrix, who was sitting opposite her, examined the red envelope.

“Have you spotted him?” she asked the owl. “He’s over there,” she said and pointed at the Gryffindor table in contempt. The owl purred and nodded. Bellatrix took a handful of bacon from the silver platter in front of her and fed the owl before sending it off to deliver the red envelope, her eyes glistening in anticipation as she did so.

Indeed, the majestic owl flew over everyone’s heads, landed on the Gryffindor table with a loud thump, throwing off a few plates, and stood right in front of Sirius Black. The boy untied the red envelope from the owl’s leg and left it on the table. At once, Noctua turned around, as if she were embarrassed to be associating with him. She flapped her wings and quickly flew out of the Great Hall.

“I was expecting this,” said Black coolly. He then shifted in his seat and looked intently at his housemates, making sure they were all aware of how he was completely unfazed by the situation.

“Open it!” said a chubby boy with tousled, light-brown hair. “Everyone knows you should never ignore a howler! It’ll explode!”

“He’s right, you know,” agreed the boy with the unkempt black hair and the glasses who was sitting right next to Black. “Go ahead, open it. It can’t be too bad.”

“You two clearly haven’t met my mother,” said Black, finding it harder to maintain his cool tone. Reluctantly, he took the howler and opened it very, very slowly. He had just broken the wax seal with the Black family crest when the envelope morphed into a mouth and flew into the air. A woman’s outraged shrill voice emerged from the mouth and began to shout at him in fiery anger.

“SIRIUS ORION BLACK! YOUR FATHER AND I, AS WELL AS EVERYONE ELSE IN THE FAMILY, ARE ABHORRED AT THE NEWS WE RECEIVED from your _darling_ cousin Bellatrix REGARDING YOUR SORTING! THE HEIR OF THE HOUSE OF BLACK, THE PUREST OF PURE BLOODLINES, PLACED AMONG THE MUGGLE-LOVING SCUM AND FILTHY MUDBLOODS OF GRYFFINDOR HOUSE! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF! YOU ARE UNWORTHY OF BEING OUR SON, AND I WISH I HAD DROWNED YOU AT BIRTH!”

Almost the entire Great Hall had turned their heads to Black’s direction, watching the howler, which immediately burst into flames and dissolved into ashes upon delivering its message.

The boy shot a fiery glare across the room, at the Slytherin table. Bellatrix straightened her back and grinned triumphantly. A few seats away from her, Andromeda smiled at him sympathetically. Narcissa didn’t even turn to look.

Severus shrugged and rose from the breakfast table. He wasn’t carrying any books, because today they had their first broomstick riding lesson, and he didn’t want to look like an idiot with a bunch of books beside him while trying to mount his broomstick; he would go back to his dorm and get them later.

He met Lily on the front steps, like they had agreed, and they made their way onto the grounds together. Some students were already there, and so were some twenty broomsticks, lying in neat lines on the lawn. The flying coach was there too, a woman with short, spiky grey hair and yellow eyes, wrapped in a woolen black cloak. Severus couldn’t help but think that she looked a lot like the Black family owl.

“Well, first-years, gather round,” she said impatiently. “Now, go stand next to a broom, each of you.” They followed her orders, only to realize that there were two extra brooms on the lawn.

“There is supposed to be one broom for each student. Which means that two of your classmates are late. Does anyone know where they are?”

But before the other students had a chance to offer any suggestions, two boys came storming down the front stairs.

“And who may you be, young men?” said the teacher sternly.

“I’m Sirius Black, Madame Hooch. And this is James Potter.”

The flying instructor hadn't introduced herself, but Black already knew her name, presumably from tales he had heard at home.

“At last, I meet you, Mister Black. Let us see if your skill at flying lives up to that of your cousin Bellatrix.”

Severus remembered what Narcissa had said during the start-of-term feast; Bellatrix could have been Quidditch captain, but she became Head Girl instead.

“I happen to be five times as good a flyer as Bella,” boasted the dark-haired boy.

“As I said, that remains to be seen. Now, boys, go stand by those two brooms, and please make sure you do not arrive late in future lessons, or you will receive detention.”

Black’s claim might have been an overstatement, Severus thought, but he was indeed a very good flyer. James Potter, however, was undoubtedly the best of them all, looking more at ease in the air than on the ground, although he complained that the school brooms weren’t of good quality, and that he would be flying much better with his own racing broom, which he had left at home. After a few tries, Lily also managed to mount her broomstick and take off, and Severus followed her a moment later. Madame Hooch was waving her wand at all directions to keep the first-years at a safe distance from each other, as they were now flying about the grounds, creating a true pandemonium.

Severus was doing quite well on his broom, but he felt like he still needed some practice, as he found himself about to crash on one of his fellow Slytherins, a girl named Imogen Hornsby. He managed to dodge her at the last moment and turned his head to apologize when he felt the bristles of his broom violently brushing against someone else. It was James Potter.

“Hey, you! Watch it!” yelled the boy. “I could have been injured!”

“It was just the bristles of the broom, they barely scratched you,” protested Severus.

“Yeah, but what if I’d lost my balance and fallen off?”

“You would have been a lousy flyer then, if that was all it took to knock you off your broom.”

Apparently trying to disprove the accusation, Potter went on to show off his flying skills, taking sharp turns and diving at breakneck speed. Many students were staring at him in amazement, but Severus was pleased to see that Lily was eyeing the reckless Gryffindor disapprovingly.

Most of the first-years had managed to take off by now. The only student who remained on the ground was the chubby Gryffindor who had earlier encouraged Sirius Black to open his howler. He had only managed to hover his broom over the lawn a little, but he had slipped off of it almost immediately. Severus saw Madame Hooch approaching him and giving him some advice, showing him how to hold his broom, and watching as the boy went for it once again, this time leaving the ground and ascending into the air. Madame Hooch sighed in relief and turned her attention elsewhere, this time to run after some Slytherins who were eagerly chasing an unfortunate owl.

However, that proved to be a mistake on her behalf, as the chubby boy quickly lost control of his broomstick, which was now whirling violently in mid-air. He held onto it for dear life as it went completely berserk and dragged him straight into the group of owl-hunting Slytherins. It all happened so quickly that Severus couldn’t make out anything but a blur; soon, he saw Edgar Rothley and Eugene Greengrass plummeting to the ground, followed by Ashley Prescott, who crashed forcefully next to them. The plump Gryffindor boy landed on top of them all and bounced off the pile, unharmed. He looked rather lost, not quite aware of the mayhem he had just brought about.

Madame Hooch was absolutely exasperated.

“All of you, on the ground! Now!” she yelled at the rest of the students who were still floating about. “I said come down here!”

Unwillingly, and certainly not as hastily as Madame Hooch would have liked them to, they all landed. After she made sure no one was still in the air, she tended to the fallen Slytherins.

“Nothing to worry about as I see it, only minor injuries. Can you all walk?”

The boys stood up with some difficulty; Eugene Greengrass had a bad scratch on his knee, and Edgar Rothley had dislocated his shoulder. Ashley Prescott remained on the ground, whimpering.

“What’s your name, young lady?”

“Ashley Prescott… ma’am…” she mumbled between her sobs.

“Can’t you walk, Miss Prescott?”

“I think I’ve… broken my… ankle!” she cried.

Madame Hooch pointed her wand at the girl and levitated her into the air.

“I’m taking these students to the hospital wing, and then I’ll be right back. None of you move.”

And she left in a hurry, Ashley floating next to her and the two boys limping behind her.

Potter and Black approached the short, plump Gryffindor.

“That was awesome!” exclaimed Potter. “What’s your name again?”

Black sighed and rolled his eyes.

“He’s in our dorm, James! This is Peter Pettibrew. Right, Peter?”

“P-pettigrew,” he corrected him.

“Oh, right. But I totally agree with James, mate! That was brilliant.”

Peter Pettigrew’s eyes widened as he looked up to the two dark-haired boys, his mouth slightly agape in pure awe. “You really th-think so?”

“Yeah, man, it was wicked! Those Slytherins didn’t know what hit them!”

“But he didn’t do it on purpose. Did you, Peter?”

The lanky, tawny-haired boy who had spoken was also a Gryffindor. Severus knew his name because he had been answering questions in class sometimes - he was called Remus Lupin. Pettigrew looked at him in horror, obviously sensing that he was about to sabotage his newfound popularity.

“Why do _you_ care, Lupin?”

“Because I was close enough to see your broom malfunctioning - it wasn’t your doing. Besides, it would be a horrible thing to do on purpose; those children could have been hurt.”

“Easy there, good scout,” sneered Black. “There’s nothing a little magic can’t fix.”

“Although these Slytherins were pretty much asking for it,” added Potter.

“Really? How so?”

Potter shrugged. “I mean, they’re Slytherins.”

Lupin sighed and gave up. Potter and Black returned to their conversation with Pettigrew, who was now stuttering a lot and rubbing his hands together nervously, the same look of intimidated awe plastered all over his face.

“The way he’s staring at them, you’d think Peter Pettigrew is talking to the Queen,” said Lily. She might have been placed in Gryffindor, thought Severus, but she still possessed some common sense; no one in their right mind would take a liking to those two arrogant scamps.

“Yeah,” he agreed with a smile as he observed the disgruntled expression on Lily’s face, and he repeated her words: “You’d think he’s talking to the Queen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you might have noticed I named the Black family owl "Noctua", which is literally Latin for "owl". Apart from that, however, it is also the name of a constellation. I just thought it was too good an opportunity to miss.
> 
> Please leave a comment with your thoughts, it would mean the world to me! Thanks :)


	3. Chapter 3

Severus made his way through the stands at the Quidditch pitch, heading for the section where all the Slytherins were already taking their seats. It was the very first match of the year, Gryffindor against Slytherin, and the entire school had gathered to watch in anticipation. There were some banners here and there, supporting one of the two house teams or individual players, and some students had even painted their faces in their house colours, or were sporting ridiculous hats with lions and snakes respectively. A little taken aback by the effort they had put into those decorations, Severus hoped that his Slytherin scarf would suffice.

“Bloody hell, Snape!” he heard a voice from somewhere above him. “What in Merlin’s saggy left are you wearing?”

He gandered upwards and saw the silver-and-green faces of Rosier and Avery giving him an appalled look, as if he were a very repulsive insect. He looked down and his expression changed to match that of the two Slytherin third-years; his scarf was red and gold.

“I bumped into that Potter git and his cronies on my way here, I think he charmed it without me noticing,” he explained and waved his wand over the scarf, muttering a counter-charm to return it to its original colours. He really couldn’t understand why James Potter had developed this particular dislike towards him; Severus knew he wasn’t the most cheerful, likeable person to ever walk the Hogwarts grounds, and he did despise Gryffindor House, but he had done nothing to provoke the obnoxious first-year. _Except from existing, maybe_ , he miserably thought to himself.

The professors were also currently taking their seats, and there was an upheaval at the Gryffindor section as everyone shifted to make room for Hagrid, the voluminous gamekeeper. A seventh-year girl went and stood at the highest point of the professors’ stand, holding the tip of her wand at her neck. She was clad in Slytherin colours, had short, curly blond hair and was wearing a large pair of glasses studded with rhinestones.

“Good morning Hogwarts and welcome to the first Quidditch match of the year!” she said in a magically magnified voice. Rosier and Avery, who were sitting next to Severus, made a face at her. A couple of rows above them, Bellatrix Black was gazing at her with her usual air of superiority, her aristocratic features twisted in a scornful expression. Some overexcited Gryffindors booed the commentator as well; who could this girl be, and why on earth was she so unpopular?

“That’s Rita Skeeter,” said Avery, answering Severus’s unasked question. “She knows all of the Hogwarts gossip, and she even makes up for the parts she doesn’t know by cooking up her own stuff.”

Evan Rosier muttered a very rude word about Rita Skeeter. “She has an endless rivalry with Bellatrix,” he informed Severus. “When Bella was still playing in the team, Rita would come up with all sorts of horrible things to say about her, half of them not even _remotely_ true.” Severus thought that the other half of those horrible things must have had some solid basis.

“It’s your favourite commentator, Rita Skeeter!” announced the blond girl, blissfully ignoring everyone’s reactions. “Unfortunately, this is the final year we’ll be spending together. I know these fabulous shoes are too big to fill, but you will sadly have to replace me in a few months - by this time next year I will be out of Hogwarts and off to achieve greater things! That’s why I encourage you to enjoy me while you still have me!”

Severus rolled his eyes; he could already see why everyone hated Rita Skeeter.

“Since I have arrived rather early and the game will start in ten minutes, let us use this time to learn more about the new additions to both teams; Gryffindor has a new Keeper! His name is Frank Longbottom and he’s a third-year. I think he’s an excellent choice for the position, given that those enormous ears of his will easily block any Quaffle that comes his way!”

Outraged voices came from the Gryffindor stands, and Professor McGonagall, who was supervising the commentator, tapped her on the shoulder looking rather displeased.

“Yes, professor? Oh, of course. I’m sure Longbottom’s ears played no part in his selection as Keeper, although they are definitely a great perk. And on the Slytherin team, oh my! We have two new Beaters! The first is one of my personal favourites,” she said and licked her lips, “the very handsome fifth-year Charles Gresham - oh Charlie, quit making that face - and the other one is third-year Xanthus Mulciber! I came rather unprepared today, but I’m sure I’ll be able to dig something up about these two; for now, let us see how they live up to their infamous predecessors, Rodolphus Lestrange and Bellatrix Black!”

The non-Slytherins all over the stadium jeered at the mention of those names, but the green-and-silver clad spectators applauded, and Bellatrix proudly basked in the praise of her housemates.

“Rodolphus, of course, has graduated, but Bellatrix’s post remained vacant after she mysteriously rejected her chance to become captain and left the team… I happen to know that our two favourite Slytherin Beaters, after notoriously snogging in dark corners for years, got officially engaged over the summer, and I can’t help but wonder; are there any happy news that hastened their engagement, and that prevent our darling Bella from striking Bludgers this year? I did notice she put on a bit of weight.”

It was rather obvious what Rita Skeeter was insinuating, even to the innocent first-years. An absolutely livid Bellatrix was standing on her seat, bouncing up and down and shrieking atrocious insults to the commentator, accompanied by all sorts of obscene gestures. Severus thought she would explode, but thankfully she was pacified by an intervention from her sister Narcissa.

“Calm down, Bella dear. Think of the baby!” said Rita. Another vehement wave of profanity was directed towards her, and she answered with a cheeky smile.

“Miss Skeeter, may I remind you that you have been assigned to narrate the game, and not theorize about the personal lives of students?”

“I’m aware, professor, I merely thought that some background information always helps. But here they come! The two teams have entered the pitch, captains Richard Martin and Adrian Selwyn are shaking hands - what a grip, that Selwyn - and everyone is mounting their brooms… Madame Hooch has whistled!”

Fifteen brooms rose high into the air, and Rita Skeeter, holding up a pair of binoculars, provided an elaborate commentary with lots of “background information” for all of the players. That included scandalous accounts of their romantic involvements, as well as red-hot gossip about their family affairs, occasionally sprinkled with unflattering remarks on their outside appearance. Professor McGonagall desperately tried to keep her in line, but to no avail. Despite how much everyone seemed to loathe the impertinent commentator, Severus couldn’t help but notice how they were eagerly lapping up every bit of slanderous dirt she threw on the players - there would surely be plenty to talk about at the dinner table after Quidditch matches. Perhaps that was, after all, the reason why they were keeping her.

The game all in all wasn’t too exciting; both teams were mostly mediocre. Longbottom, the wide-eared Gryffindor Keeper, was rather good - perhaps the best in the team. He was also apparently not favoured by Severus’s friends (should he call them his friends?), Rosier and Avery, who were in the same year as Longbottom and had some sort of a feud with him. When Mulciber - who also turned out to be a rather good Beater - threw a Bludger straight at the Gryffindor Keeper, Rosier and Avery cheered for him very enthusiastically. Much to their disappointment, though, Longbottom was too quick for the Bludger, and it missed him by a few inches.

Eventually, Slytherin won the game, and that same night the team went to party in the common room, along with the rest of the house. There were lots of snacks that some sneaky fourth-years had managed to nick from the kitchen, several kinds of refreshments, and even a few bottles of rum, wine, and firewhisky, presumably brought in by the seventh-years, who were legal adults. Of course, that didn’t prevent younger Slytherins from gulping down enormous quantities of said drinks, challenging each other and ending up group-vomiting in the bathroom.

Furthermore, the Slytherins, intoxicated by their victory (and also by the aforementioned beverages), were enjoying a rather heated atmosphere. The Quidditch team, of course, was right in the centre of the action; Slytherin Keeper Rabastan Lestrange was making out with a fourth-year named Henrietta Appleton, Captain and Chaser Adrian Selwyn was balancing two of his fellow sixth-years on his lap, Sergio Zabini was flirting with Persephone Paxton, Corban Yaxley and his girlfriend Margaret Jackson were hiding in some dark place doing Merlin knows what, and poor Charles Gresham was being mercilessly cornered by Rita Skeeter. Even Mulciber was receiving a bit of attention from a couple of girls from his year, with Rosier and Avery next to him trying to share his glory.

Severus realized they wouldn’t want him anywhere near at that time and he looked desperately for some peace in the chaos. From afar, he saw Lucius Malfoy sitting by the fire, his arm around Narcissa Black as usual. Bellatrix Black was sitting beside them, gulping down shots of firewhisky with determination. Severus moved closer and stood a few metres behind them, watching their shadows tremble on the floor. They didn’t notice his presence - much like Lily hadn’t noticed him back in Cokeworth, all those days he had spent watching her. _I would make a good spy_ , he thought to himself with a tiny ripple of pride. 

“Do you have to, Bella? Haven’t you had enough?” her sister said, knocking a shot out of her hand. The shot glass fell onto the floor and was crushed into pieces, but Bellatrix repaired it with a flick of her wand and poured herself another shot.

“What, are you concerned about _the baby_ too?” She spat out the words in utter revulsion.

“Come on, don’t be ridiculous. Nobody actually believes Rita!” said Lucius.

“Oh yeah? Do you know what happened after we left the pitch? McGonagall took me aside to _talk to me_.”

“Really?” came Narcissa’s concerned voice. “What did she say?”

Bellatrix attempted a half-drunk impersonation of the professor.

“ _I know better than to take Miss Skeeter’s words seriously, Miss Black, but should you need anything at any time, do not feel ashamed. Madame Pomfrey will be happy to tend to you._ ”

“First of all, Bella, that’s a terrible McGonagall impression,” said Lucius. “She doesn’t sound anything like that. Second, I don’t think she really believes Rita either. She told you this just in case.”

Bellatrix downed another shot and directed a deadly glare towards some third-year girls who were looking at her and whispering. Her hand reached for the wand in her pocket, and she was about to get up and make her way to them. Narcissa grabbed at her robe and dragged her back to the sofa.

“No, Bella. You’re drunk. Besides, you promised you’d stop this year.”

“Come on, Cissy, just a tiny little hex!”

“Sit down, Bellatrix, please.”

There was something about her voice - worry, and fear, and perhaps also care - that made the older girl grumpily plunge herself back into the sofa.

“Fine,” she muttered. “And I’m not drunk, not yet.” She poured another shot. “But I will be.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that vomiting all over the bathroom will do wonders for the non-pregnant image you’re trying to maintain,” remarked Lucius.

Suddenly, Severus felt a slight tickling in his throat, and smothered a cough against the back of his hand. Lucius, however, had heard him. He turned his white-blond head around, his ice-blue eyes smiling at the small boy.

“Didn’t see you there, Severus. Trying to escape the madness over there?” he said, beckoning at the lively crowd. Severus nodded.

“Come sit here, then. I would offer you some firewhisky but you’re too young, aren’t you? Besides, we soon won’t have any left.” He threw a side glance at Bellatrix, who had now leaned her head against the arm of the sofa, her eyes half-shut. The firewhisky was apparently kicking in.

“I don’t understand why you’re... inviting this little... slimeball,” she murmured. “Evan said… he’s… a half-blood.”

“Don’t listen to her, Severus,” said Narcissa. It was the first time she had ever spoken to him. “She’s too drunk to know what she’s talking about. I’ll take her to bed.”

With great difficulty, the blond girl lifted her sister and dragged her to her dorm, leaving Severus alone with Lucius.

“So,” said the older boy, sipping some firewhisky straight out of the bottle, “did you enjoy the match?”

“It was very interesting. I’d never seen a real Quidditch game before.”

“Really? My father took me to the Quidditch World Cup once, you know, back when they held it in France. We own some estate there, you see, and he was visiting anyway, so he took me to see it. Thrilling experience.”

He spoke very matter-of-factly, as if it were very common for a person to own estate in France and to casually drop by the Quidditch World Cup during a visit. It suddenly dawned on Severus that the Malfoys were immeasurably wealthy, and his stomach twinged slightly with envy. He tried not to show it, however, and did his best to change the topic.

“Hey, Lucius… How come you don’t play in the team?”

“Me?” The blond boy was surprised. “Oh, I don’t like this sort of thing very much. Quidditch is too… _physical_ for my liking. And all the sweat, and the dirt, and the injuries… No, thanks. Not to mention the hideous design of the Quidditch robes.” _Of course_ , thought Severus. The always immaculately attired Lucius Malfoy and his perfect hair were the exact opposite of a Quidditch player.

“Yes, I see what you mean. I don’t like physical activities either. Even broomstick riding proved to be harder than I thought.”

Lucius twitched a bit at that, or so it seemed in the half-light of the fireplace. He remained silent for a few moments, thinking about something. Severus couldn’t quite tell what it was, but he sensed some sort of grief. He could always sense it when a person felt a strong emotion, especially if he looked right into the person’s eyes.

“The one who’s really good on a broom is Bella,” Lucius said finally, obviously in an attempt to shake off that momentary thought. “You should have seen her, Severus, she was something. Her skill with magic is prodigious, but she’s just as tough without a wand. One of the best Beaters this house has ever seen.”

“Why did she quit, then? Was it because of what Rita Skeeter said? Is Bellatrix-”

“No, no, Severus! We _never_ take Rita Skeeter seriously! That’s like, rule number one! No, Bellatrix gave up Quidditch for a very good reason, but unfortunately I can’t tell you more on that, because it’s a secret and I have sworn not to tell.”

The boy nodded. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright. But I think you should head to bed now, don’t you? I’ll go round them all up and ship them upstairs.” He tapped on his prefect badge and winked at Severus. “Why don’t you go first? Set a good example.”

“Yeah, alright,” said the boy, and dutifully ran up to his dorm. After all, it was late, and they had Double Potions first thing in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might have noticed that I hinted at Snape's Legilimens abilities, which he developed later on. Rowling said that he had a natural inclination which he cultivated into the full thing, unlike Voldemort, who was a natural Legilimens.
> 
> Also, have you heard of the trope "Draco in leather pants"? According to tvtropes.org, it's when a fandom takes a controversial or downright villainous character and downplays his/her flaws, often turning him/her into an object of desire and/or a victim in the process. In this fic, I'm going to take it back a generation and pull a "Lucius in leather pants". I'm sure he'd look really good in them anyway. The man is a fashion icon.


	4. Chapter 4

Severus had always been passionate about coming to Hogwarts and training as a wizard, and so he strived to do well in every class. He even tried his best to pay attention in History of Magic, fighting the temptation to let Professor Binns’s voice lull him to sleep and doze off, like most students. He did alright at Astronomy and Herbology, and even better at Charms and Transfiguration. Defense Against the Dark Arts fascinated him greatly, and he had gone through the entire textbook a couple of times before the school year had even started, giving himself quite a headstart in classes. But the subject he was most talented at was Potions. During Professor Slughorn’s classes, he simply excelled. His potions usually turned out impeccable, and they earned him not only the praise of the professor, but also the envious glares of other students, particularly Gryffindors.

“Good morning, my dears,” the bumbling voice of the professor welcomed them as they entered the classroom, “please take your seats.” He moved his great weight with some difficulty among the rows of desks, ensuring that everyone was seated before proceeding. “Very well, very well. Today we will be learning about a simple potion, for which we will be using snake fangs, horned slugs, and porcupine quills. Can anyone guess what this potion is called?”

Severus raised his hand. There were a few other hands in the air too, including Remus Lupin’s, as well as Lily’s.

“Yes, Miss Evans?”

“It’s the Cure for Boils potion, sir, isn’t it?”

“Correct! Five points to Gryffindor!”

Some Slytherins huffed in disappointment. Lily looked at Severus, and he gave her an encouraging smile. She was also rather gifted at Potions, and he admired her for that accomplishment, since she came from a Muggle family and had been raised without magic until very recently.

“Now,” continued Professor Slughorn, “I have all the necessary ingredients here on my desk, and I want you to come and observe as I prepare the potion myself first.” The students huddled around his cauldron, pushing each other as they were trying to peer inside it. Severus found himself squeezed next to Slughorn, whose enormous belly regularly poked the boy as he kept reaching for different things around the table.

“Mister Black, will you please hand me the mortar and pestle?” he said to the dark-haired Gryffindor, who was observing from the opposite side of the table. Black levitated the requested item and sent it flying towards the professor, but before it could reach him, the charm wore off, causing the mortar and pestle to land with a thud on Severus’s head.

“I asked you to _hand_ it to me, Mister Black, not levitate it and injure one of my best students! I will assume that this mishap occurred merely because you haven’t yet mastered the levitation charm, and I would advise you to consult Professor Flitwick on the matter. Are you alright, Mister Snape?”

Severus nodded in embarrassment. Merlin’s hat, why couldn’t they leave him alone? He could now see Potter appreciatively elbowing Black, and small Peter Pettigrew silently giggling beside them. Apparently, they had included him in their clique after the broom havoc he had unleashed on the Slytherins.

Professor Slughorn resumed his demonstration. “I am going to crush six snake fangs in here. I prefer to use viper fangs for this potion, but it doesn’t really matter what type of snake you extract them from.” He threw the fangs into the mortar and pointed his wand at the pestle, which began to move up and down frantically, hammering the fangs into a fine powder. “When your turn comes, my dears, I would like you to crush them without magic - your skills at Charms are obviously not quite developed yet, so I advise you to handle the pestle manually.”

The potion was indeed rather simple, and after demonstrating the process, the professor sent them to the shelves and cupboards to retrieve their ingredients. This might have sounded like an easy task, but getting ingredients from the stores was no mean feat; many things in there were alive, or sentient at the very least. A few clumsy first-years pierced their fingers while collecting porcupine quills, and someone dropped a jar of horned slugs on the floor. The small creatures escaped and began to crawl around the room, causing quite a commotion as some students accidentally squashed them under their shoes (at which point certain girls began to shriek in disgust), while others - Gryffindors mainly - took to throwing the slugs at one another. Obviously, one of the main slug-tossers was James Potter, who aimed one of them at Remus Lupin, but missed and landed it on Lily’s hair instead.

“Ewwww! Potter! Get that thing off of me!” she yelled indignantly.

But Potter was rather nonchalant. “Relax, Evans, it’s only an adorable little animal, aren’t you?” he cooed at the slug as he pulled it off of Lily’s dark red curls.

“You _disgust_ me!” she spat out and rushed to her cauldron, carrying her ingredients. Potter turned to his friends, muttering something with a boastful, toothy grin.

After Professor Slughorn had finally managed to clean up the mess and round up all of his students, they began to prepare the potion. _Take six snake fangs, crush them in the mortar, add four measures to the cauldron. Heat for ten seconds, wave my wand over it, leave it to brew._ “Listen up, everyone! Today’s reward for the best potion will be a permission slip for the Forbidden Section at the library!” said Slughorn. Severus thought he’d really like to get that permission slip; who knows what wonders could be hidden in the Forbidden Section, what deep knowledge about the Dark Arts which so greatly fascinated him. He had to brew a potion nothing short of perfect. _Add four horned slugs - ew, these are sticky - and take the cauldron off the fire. Add two porcupine quills, stir clockwise five times, wave my wand, and… done!_

“Professor? I finished mine.” He looked around; most people were still crushing their snake fangs, some were tackling the horned slugs and only Lily had moved on to the porcupine quills.

“Well then, Mister Snape, let me take a look!” The good-natured professor peered inside Severus’s cauldron, looking positively impressed, sniffed it, and eventually smiled widely at the boy. “This seems like it should be able to cure the nastiest of boils! Ten points to Slytherin, and unless someone else delivers a better potion - which I doubt - the permission slip is yours, my dear!” Severus swelled with pride and cast a side glance at James Potter, who was presently playing with a fat slug instead of throwing it into his cauldron. _Perhaps this is why you can’t stand me, Potter; because I’m so much better than you._ It was a comforting thought, although not too helpful. If he really _was_ better than Potter, why did he always find it so hard to fight back?

Unsurprisingly, Severus did end up claiming the prize for the best potion and decided to head to the library that very afternoon, excited about the prospect of reading everything he could find on Dark spells and artefacts. He couldn’t go now, as they would shortly have to head to the greenhouse for Herbology. Perhaps he and Lily could spend recess strolling in the school grounds, enjoying the chilly breeze and the sight of the falling leaves; autumn was beautiful at Hogwarts.

“Sev, I’ll go down to the lake with the girls, alright? See you in Herbology!” said the red-haired girl as she passed before him with her Gryffindor girlfriends, granting him a precious smile.

“Sure! See you!” He tried not to let the disappointment show in his voice; of course Lily had made new friends here at Hogwarts. Of course they couldn’t spend every break together. Would he have wanted her to be unpopular among her housemates? Would he have preferred it if she were lonely like he was? Of course not. _When you love someone like I love Lily, the first thing you want is for them to be happy._

He went up to the boys’ bathroom, resorting to what he always chose to do whenever he was left without company; hide in one of the stalls until recess ended, so that no one would see him sulking on his own and pity him for being a social outcast. There, however, he encountered three familiar faces; his “friends” (he was still reluctant to actually consider them his friends, so he always used quotation marks in his head when referring to them), Rosier, Avery and Mulciber. Apart from the three of them, another boy was also present; he was a third-year Hufflepuff who currently seemed terrified as he lay curled up on the floor.

“P-please, don’t hurt me! I’ll do whatever you want, I swear!”

“What we _want_ ,” said Mulciber, who was holding the Hufflepuff at wandpoint, “is for you to leave Hogwarts and go back to the Muggle world with the rest of your kind, you disgusting _mudblood!_ ”

“Yeah,” said Avery, “you don’t belong here and nobody wants you!” He spat at the boy’s face. Severus didn’t know how to feel about the situation; as a Slytherin (and half a Prince), he had a defined set of beliefs on Muggleborns; they didn’t deserve their magic, and allowing them into Hogwarts was inappropriate. But did they deserve such foul treatment? _Yes, if they have earned it. Who knows what this Hufflepuff did to provoke them?_ A voice at the back of his head whispered that the boy had probably done nothing wrong, but Severus ignored it.

Evan Rosier stepped forward with his usual regal poise, his eyes shimmering with silent hatred as he extended his arm and pointed at his victim. “ _Engorgio Skullus_ ,” he said quietly, and the boy’s head began to swell. The three Slytherins watched in amusement as it blew up, getting bigger and bigger. “Stop it! Please! Stop it!” cried the Hufflepuff, but Rosier laughed. “It will stop on its own when your stupid mudblood head explodes,” he explained and cackled maliciously, slightly reminiscent of his cousin Bellatrix.

The boy was now screaming in agony, as his head had reached the size of a carriage. It was then that he noticed Severus’s small figure at the entrance.

“You! First-year! Help me! Get someone!” he yelled in despair.

The others, who also hadn’t noticed Severus until then, turned to look at him in horror.

“Don’t you _dare_ leave this bathroom, Snape!” said Mulciber, and the look on his face was menacing enough to make Severus freeze in his tracks. However, the door behind him opened again, and another boy entered the bathroom; it was Frank Longbottom, the Gryffindor Keeper. His face assumed an expression of righteous anger as he realized what was happening, and he acted quickly, pointing his wand at the Hufflepuff and shouting “ _Redactum Skullus_!” The boy’s head deflated and gradually returned to its original size. He thanked Frank Longbottom through tears and ran from the bathroom as fast as he could.

The Gryffindor was positively outraged. “What did poor Michael ever do to you?!”

“Exactly the same thing that he’s doing to you, Longbottom, and to every other pureblood wizard in this school,” said Rosier coolly, “but you’re too much of a mudblood lover to see it.”

“I will report you immediately!” said Longbottom and left in a hurry. Mulciber made a move to go after him, but Rosier lay a hand on his shoulder, restraining him.

“Let him go. If he lands us in detention, I’ll make sure he pays for it. He won’t dare mess with us again. As for you, Snape,” he said as he turned to Severus, and the boy felt his heart sink to his stomach, “you did the right thing by staying here and not calling for help. Despite being a half-blood, you’re a proper Slytherin.” Severus smiled reluctantly, but Evan ignored him and strode across the room. Mulciber and Avery followed him, and the three of them left in a dignified manner that implied they had just carried out a very noble task. The little voice at the back of Severus’s head mumbled something about these boys not being any better than Potter and Black - perhaps even worse - but Severus was quick to silence it; this wasn’t the same. He had done absolutely nothing to provoke the two cocky Gryffindors, and they only bullied him for their personal satisfaction. Rosier and his friends, on the other hand, were defending their pureblood values and their magical heritage, and teaching that Muggleborn what his place in the school was. _No,_ Severus repeated to himself for reassurance, _this definitely isn’t the same._


	5. Chapter 5

“Hey! You!”

Severus had just exited the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom when James Potter shouted at him. He ignored him and kept walking.

“Oi! Where are you going?” Sirius Black stepped in front of him, blocking his way.

“You seem to know an awful lot about the Dark Arts, don’t you?” said Potter.

After having studied Dark creatures for a while, the professor had now asked the students to give some examples of Dark spells. Severus had mentioned the three Unforgivables, earning ten points for Slytherin, but he was now realizing his mistake.

“I’ve just… read about them.”

“Read about them, huh? Where? In one of these?” Black pointed at the pile of books he was holding.

“I bet you’ve got lots of Dark spells in there, don’t you?” said the boy with the glasses. He shoved the books onto Severus’s stomach and pushed him to the ground. The books were scattered around the floor. Black took one of them and began to rip up its pages.

Severus tried to keep his composure, but a tear made its way down his cheek.

“Aw, James, look at the little snivelling baby!”

“Hey, what’s your name again? Isn’t it... _Snivellus_?”

He tried to get up, but Potter kicked him in the knee. The tears were now becoming too hard to hold back.

All of a sudden, a girl’s voice echoed behind them.

“Sirius Black!”

It was his cousin Narcissa, giving Black a disapproving look. Next to her, Lucius Malfoy dropped his satchel to the floor and pulled the two young Gryffindors away from Severus.

“Let us go!” protested Potter.

“I am a prefect, and I’m responsible for the safety of other Slytherins,” he said sternly. “You were terrorizing a member of my house, and physically hurting him. Now get out of here before I report you to Professor McGonagall!”

“Listen here, Malfoy,” said Black defiantly, “just because you’re snogging my cousin, it doesn’t give you the right to boss me around.”

“SIRIUS!” yelled Narcissa, mortified.

“How dare you, you little scum,” muttered Lucius through clenched teeth. “Get out of my sight.”

“Hey Cissy,” Black shouted as he and Potter were now walking away, “rumour has it that your _boyfriend_ is training to join a certain group of Dark wizards… I’d be careful if I were you!”

“HOW DARE YOU! You filthy little blood-traitor! Run to your mudblood friends!”

But the two boys had already disappeared from sight.

“It’s alright, Cissa, don’t pay attention to him. We’re not letting an eleven-year-old get to us, are we?” said Lucius. He kissed her on the cheek, then directed his attention to Severus, who was still lying on the floor.

“Come, Severus,” he said as he helped him up. He waved his wand over the destroyed book, which was immediately mended, and then levitated it along with the other books into a neat pile, landing them in Severus’s arms.

“There you are,” he said with a disarming smile. Severus smiled back in gratitude.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” He gently patted him on the shoulder and turned to Narcissa. “I have to go now, love. Slughorn is expecting his favourite student, and I cannot disappoint him, can I?” He winked at her, and she chuckled. “See you later.”

The girl kissed him for a few moments and let him go. She then cracked an imperceptible smile at the small boy and entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

-

Later that day, as Severus opened the door to the Slytherin common room, an owl flew over his head.

“Give it back, you pile of bat droppings!”

This very creative insult was, unsurprisingly, coming from Bellatrix, who was pointing a crooked wand at a dark-haired boy across the room. He was holding a letter, running around and trying to shield himself behind furniture or other students.

“Sorry, Bella, that’s my family’s crest on the wax seal and I demand to know what’s inside!”

“You know bloody well what’s inside! _Accio letter!_ ”

The letter slipped from his hands and flew into the air. Bellatrix snatched it and shoved it in her pocket.

“I can only imagine what my brother writes in there if you’re so fervent about not letting me read it,” the boy sneered. Bellatrix ignored him and ran upstairs. Narcissa, who was lying on Lucius’s lap in the leather sofa, rose and went behind her, apparently curious to read the letter as well.

“Finally, Luce,” said the letter thief after Narcissa left, “I thought you and the princess were bound together by a permanent sticking charm.”

“Don’t call her that.”

“Come on, Malfoy, you’ve been with her all day every day since we got here,” complained another boy, who was tall and thickset. “You’ve been ignoring us.”

“Well, Goyle, it isn’t my fault if no girl ever comes anywhere near _you_ ,” said Lucius and turned to the dark-haired boy for approval of his joke, but he shook his head.

“He’s right, mate. You’ve been ignoring us. Seems like your prefect duties require you to not do anything unless it involves snogging Narcissa Black.”

“This is ridiculous, Rabastan. I spend lots of time with you. We sit together in every class.”

“Yeah, and that’s it. You didn’t even come with us to Hogsmeade - you went to that pathetic tea shop with _her_.”

“Merlin’s beard, fine! Next Hogsmeade visit, I’ll come to the Three Broomsticks with you.”

“We don’t go there anymore. It’s packed with third-years. We’ll go to the Hog’s Head.”

“Fine, fine. Whatever you want.”

The girls were now coming back downstairs, exchanging meaningful looks. Rabastan’s attention shifted.

“Hey Bella! What was it? What did Rodolphus say?”

“He said you could piss off.”

“Anything else?”

“It’s none of your business. Leave me alone.”

Her voice was quiet but Severus could see her eyes twitching, her hand grabbing her wand under her robes. Rabastan, on the other hand, took no notice of that.

“Did he say anything about making _sweet love_ to you once you’re married? Because he keeps telling me about it.”

“I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE!” she snapped.

With a flick of her hand, her wand was in the air, pointing at Rabastan. Before she could cast the spell, however, her sister Andromeda jumped from near the fireplace, where she had been sitting with her friends.

“ _EXPELLIARMUS_ ,” she yelled in panic while Narcissa was pulling Bellatrix to the floor. The crooked wand flew out of her hand, and her youngest sister collected it.

“WHY DID YOU DISARM ME? I WAS GOING TO MAKE HIM PAY! HE WOULD SUFFER!”

“Bella, Bella, calm down,” whispered a terrified Narcissa, but her sister shoved her away and got back to her feet.

“You,” she said, marching towards Andromeda, “you will regret this. You’ve always been a meddlesome little brat!”

“Bella, no… I just… I thought you were going to do what you did in the summer.”

Narcissa’s eyes bulged. She gave her sister a _you shouldn’t have said that_ look. Andromeda slapped her hand on her mouth.

“So what if I was? What are you, my parole Auror?”

“Bella, come here, please,” said Narcissa quietly. “Come.”

Still menacingly glaring at Andromeda, Bellatrix walked over to her other sister. Severus saw that her heavy-lidded eyes were unnaturally wide open, something gleaming brightly in them, and her lower lip was trembling. Narcissa placed her arm around Bellatrix’s shoulders and led her back upstairs.

“You’re going to rest, alright?” Severus heard her whisper. “I’ll give you your potion. You’ve had a long day, haven’t you? Come on.”

There was a stunned silence in the room after that incident, and it was easy to spot the two questions floating like ominous clouds above everybody’s head; what had Bellatrix done over the summer, and what kind of potion was she taking?

Severus walked up to the sofa and gazed intently at the empty seat next to Lucius. “Severus! I didn’t see you there,” said the blond-haired boy wearily, but with a sincere smile. “Wanna have a seat?”

“Yes. Thank you.” He sat down next to him, took out one of his books, and got started on some homework.

“What’s that? Potions?”

Severus nodded.

“What do you make of Slughorn?”

“Oh, he’s alright. I mean, he’s a good professor. I like Potions, they’re fascinating.” He didn’t tell Lucius that he liked Potions because it felt so wonderful to be acknowledged and praised for once in his life, nor did he tell him that he also liked Potions because he got to share a table with Lily Evans.

“Do you? I never really did. I mean, you can do wonders with them, but there is very little magic involved, and if I ever need a potion, I can just have someone brew it for me. So, generally, Potions bore me to death. When I was your age, what I really liked was Transfiguration. Drastic, and very impressive, don’t you think?”

“I… I guess.”

“But Slughorn is friends with my father, and that means I’m in the Slug Club.”

“The Slug Club?”

“Yeah, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds. He hosts dinner parties and such, with a select few of his students - for example, next week he’s hosting a Christmas party. Playing favourites doesn’t make him very popular, of course, but he knows what he’s doing. He’s building a web of contacts. Smart man, really. A Slytherin through and through.”

A few moments of silence passed when Severus finally decided to speak out.

“Lucius, earlier today, when you saved me from those boys…”

“You make me sound like too much of a hero,” he interrupted him. “I just did what I had to do. Plus, I can’t stand Cissa’s cousin - he went out of his way to annoy us whenever I visited her in the summer. I absolutely loathe him.”

“Speaking of him,” the little boy continued, attempting to make it sound as if he hadn’t been trying to get the conversation there all along, “he said something about you. Something about joining a group of Dark wizards.”

“Ah, yes. Well, the little git’s got that one right, hasn’t he?” Lucius said loudly, turning to Rabastan. The dark-haired boy grinned cunningly and winked at him.

“What did he mean? Who are those wizards?”

“Well, Rabastan here can enlighten you. Can’t you, Rab?”

But Rabastan seemed a bit reluctant. “I don’t know, Lucius. We’re not supposed to go around telling everyone.”

“Oh come on, little Severus here is alright. He won’t tell anyone, right Severus?”

“Of course not, I promise! I’ll… I’ll make the Unbreakable Vow!”

Rabastan laughed. “There’s no need for that. I believe you. But if I find out that you’ve went and blabbed about it to someone, especially outside of Slytherin…”

Severus shook his head.

“Alright then. Let’s see…”

Rabastan sat beside him and leaned towards him, almost whispering in his ear, as he began to unravel the tale of Lord Voldemort. He was the greatest Dark wizard the world had ever seen, and Rabastan’s own father had been among Lord Voldemort’s friends at Hogwarts and, subsequently, his first followers. This wizard had figured out the secret of immortality, he had managed to fool death, and for that reason his supporters called themselves _Death Eaters_. He was a great man, Rabastan said. He’d met him a couple of times, very briefly. Lord Voldemort also believed that magical blood was sacred, that Muggles were lesser beings, that mudbloods should be eliminated. Besides, he had studied the Dark Arts for years and he had taken them beyond anything ever done before; he was a true pioneer, a master of darkness. Rabastan’s brother, Rodolphus, who had graduated Hogwarts the previous year, had completed his training to become a Death Eater and he was now going to receive Lord Voldemort’s mark.

Severus listened in awe; he had never heard of anything similar. This Lord Voldemort sounded like the powerful leader that the wizarding world needed. He completely agreed with him; the Dark Arts shouldn’t be prosecuted, but reverenced and openly practised. He brushed off that part about eliminating mudbloods - surely this didn’t mean they had to be _killed_ , just… banished from the wizarding society, or something like that.

“So you and Lucius are joining him too?”

“Not yet, no,” said Rabastan, sounding a tad disappointed. “But we’ll get to that. Father says I should at least be of age, and so does Mr. Malfoy.”

“And can anyone become a… a _Death Eater_?”

“Well,” said Lucius, “right now it’s sort of an underground thing, you know? Not exactly a secret, or we wouldn’t be telling you, but also not something to advertise openly. Still, I expect that it won’t be long before he rises to a greater power, and then yes, everyone will be welcome to join.”

Severus thought that perhaps, after graduating Hogwarts, he would be able to become a Death Eater as well. The prospect of exploring the Dark Arts to their full potential thrilled him. Up to now, he had never thought of his future, of the kind of use he would like to put his powers to, of how much more he wanted to learn. He couldn’t concentrate on his Potions homework anymore; the idea of this Lord Voldemort and the new era he was bringing forth had taken over his thoughts. Eventually, he decided to take the books to his dorm and go to sleep.

He put on his old, tattered pyjamas that were a little too small for him, pulled the blanket over his head and pretended to be asleep as he heard the other first-years get ready for bed. He didn’t like hanging out with them - they were far too immature, and they didn’t seem to like him very much either. Besides, being around older students like Lucius gave him a chance to hear all kinds of infinitely more interesting things. He thought about Rabastan’s brother, Rodolphus. Every year, the dorm of the previous seventh-years was given to the new first-years. Perhaps Rodolphus Lestrange had been sleeping on that same bed during his time at Hogwarts. And now he was going to go down in wizarding history by serving Lord Voldemort and his brilliant, inspired cause.

He was just beginning to doze off, when he heard a distant scream, almost as if through a dream, and then he could swear there were footsteps. It sounded like it was coming from the girls’ dormitories. But he didn’t think much of it; his eyelids fell, and he finally drifted into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! Please do leave me a comment and tell me what you thought, that would totally make my day :)
> 
> Also, beware; the next couple of chapters will be focusing on some Black sisters drama, so stick around if you're interested in that (or like, if you're not interested, consider yourselves warned lol :P)


	6. Chapter 6

There was quite a commotion in the Slytherin table the following day, when Severus sat down for breakfast. All the attention seemed to be focused around Rita Skeeter, who was sitting a little further from him, but close enough to be within his earshot. Another two girls tried to break through the circle that had formed around her, evidently desperate to hear the story first-hand.

“Rita! Is it true?” said one of the girls. Severus knew them; they were Andromeda Black’s friends, Evianna Greengrass and Madeline Fawcett.

The seventh-year rolled her eyes. “Come on, girls, don’t make me tell it again,” she said, but it was obvious from the tone of her voice that she wouldn’t actually love anything more than repeating the tale.

“Please!” begged the other girl.

“Ah, fine then, but this is the last time, alright?” She cleared her throat. “So, like I said, I had just fallen asleep last night when a horrid loud scream woke me up. I immediately understood that it was someone from my dorm. Of course the curtains around every bed were pulled, but I suspected that it had come from the bed in the corner. And who sleeps there, Margaret?” she said, turning to the girl on her left.

“Bellatrix Black, of course!” said Margaret, very satisfied to be taking part in the narration.

“Right. Now, as if to confirm my suspicions, someone came running into our dorm. It was no other than Andromeda Black. She was in panic, and she told us to go back to sleep, but of course we couldn’t, not after dear Bella had woken us all up screaming like a maniac. Andromeda pulled the curtains to Bellatrix’s bed. I couldn’t see exactly what was happening because my bed is far away from hers, but I think Bellatrix attacked her, because there was a thump on one of the posts.”

Margaret nodded, and a smug smile appeared on Rita’s lips. She went on.

“It was then that little Narcissa came running in, her ever perfect hair now all disheveled. She headed to Bellatrix’s bed, as you can imagine, and it sounded like she was trying to comfort her. But, as I said, my bed isn’t close to hers. It’s Margaret who sleeps right next to Bella. What were they saying, Margaret?”

The girl had apparently already repeated those things a couple of times, but she was enjoying the dramatic tension, and the role she had in the conversation. Severus was reminded of the way a television news host would turn to a reporter for further information.

“Well, Rita, they were whispering, so it was really difficult to make out, but Narcissa was telling her to calm down, that it had only been a dream. I’m not sure but I think Bellatrix was crying. Andromeda asked her a question, I couldn’t figure out exactly what, but I heard something about a house elf. Anyway, after that, Andromeda said she had to wake up early and study for her O.W.L.s, so she went to bed. Narcissa stayed with Bellatrix until she fell asleep, then she left.”

Mouths were hanging open all around her, and some were whispering.

“Now,” said Rita, “if we add all of this to what happened in the common room with Rabastan Lestrange, I think we can come to a few conclusions.”

But what those conclusions were, Severus never found out, because Rita began to whisper very quietly, most likely because at that moment Lucius and Narcissa came and sat opposite him.

“Good morning, Severus!”

“Morning!” said the boy as he ate some porridge.

Lucius served some scrambled eggs to Narcissa and then began to butter some toast for himself. “So what did you do?” he said to her, probably continuing a conversation they had already been having.

“Andy and I went to Slughorn this morning and told him Bella wasn’t feeling well, that she needed to rest. He said he’d notify the other professors.”

“Why didn’t you take her to Madame Pomfrey?”

“Because I don’t think this is her area of expertise. This is not a broken bone. Besides, I don’t want people to see her and start talking about what happened.”

It was funny, Severus thought, that people spoke in front of him as if he weren’t there, or as if he couldn’t hear them. It was like being a fly on the wall. If he chose to go around talking about all the gossip he had overheard… But who would he tell? He didn’t have any friends except for Lily, and she didn’t like listening to tales about Slytherin House. She hadn’t looked particularly happy when he told her about Lucius Malfoy and how friendly he had been towards him. Lily said she had heard Lucius call someone a _mudblood_ , and one of her Gryffindor friends explained to her that it was a very rude name for Muggleborn wizards. Severus wanted to defend Lucius, to tell Lily that the Slytherin prefect would never call anyone a mudblood, but of course he knew that wasn’t true, not for the prestigious heir of an influential Sacred Twenty-Eight family.

“And you’re leaving her locked up in the dorm for the entire day?”

“No, of course not. Andy and I will take turns visiting her between classes.”

“The potion doesn’t help anymore?”

“The potion is designed to calm her nerves, but not much more than that. It can’t control her dreams, and it can’t fix her.”

“Has she had many dreams like this?”

“She had two in the summer, one right after the elf incident, and one a few days before term started. But it’s the first time she’s had one at school. And this one was different.”

“Different how?”

“This time, she didn’t dream of an elf.” There was a hint of fear in her eyes as she said this.

Lucius rubbed her back comfortingly and she let out a quiet sigh. Behind them, an angry fifth-year was marching towards the people gathered around Rita. It was Andromeda Black.

“Rita Skeeter!” she yelled. The blond girl looked at her with confidence, feeling shielded by the crowd around her.

“Yes, Andromeda, can I help you?”

“Oh yes, yes you can! You would help me very much indeed if you stopped spreading stories about my sister!”

“I’m not _spreading stories_ , my dear, I’m simply stating the facts, and drawing reasonable conclusions. You can’t deny, of course, that you were in our dorm last night, can you?”

Andromeda didn’t answer the question. “Listen here, you pathetic blockhead. You’re going to stop spreading these rumours right now, and you’d better hope that Bellatrix doesn’t find out about them, do you understand?”

“Oh no! And what if she does? Will your deranged sister attack me? Like she almost attacked Rabastan Lestrange, or like she attacked you?”

“RITA!” Andromeda was boiling with anger, her resemblance to her older sister now more pronounced than ever. “FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, LEARN WHEN TO SHUT YOUR BLOODY MOUTH!”

Narcissa stood up calmly and approached her sister. “Come on, Andy, let’s not make a sight of ourselves. That’s what she wants. Just ignore her.”

“Quit telling me what to do, Cissy! I’m sick of it! You’re the only one who knows how to handle her, the only one who can calm her down, the one she always asks for! Well, I guess she doesn’t need _me_ then! I’m not wasting my free periods to check on her today, alright? You can do that on your own, like everything else, since you’re so bloody good at it!”

And she left furiously, just like she had come.

Professor McGonagall walked to the Slytherin table, evidently concerned.

“Is anything wrong, Miss Black?” she asked Narcissa. With great effort, the girl kept her composure.

“No, professor. Everything’s fine.”

“Miss Skeeter?”

“There’s nothing wrong, professor. Right, Cissy?”

Narcissa bit her lower lip in a mixture of grief and anger - nobody ever called her Cissy except from her sisters - but she didn’t react. The smug look was back on Rita’s face.

“Well then, if nothing is wrong, I don’t see why you shouldn’t be heading to my classroom, Miss Black. If you will follow me.”

She gave Narcissa a gentle tap on the back, and the girl left the Great Hall with her.

Rabastan Lestrange turned up next to Lucius and grabbed an apple from the table, taking an aggressive bite.

“Hey Rab,” said the blond boy. “Do you have a free period?”

“Yeah, I thought you would have noticed by now. Or did you think I’d be taking Divination?”

“No, of course not. Who takes Divination?”

“Andromeda Black does. I heard she fancies a Hufflepuff, though, so maybe that’s why she’s taking it - the Hufflepuffs are there too.”

“I’ve never met a Hufflepuff I genuinely liked. Which one does Dromeda fancy?”

“Dunno,” said Rabastan through a mouthful of apple, “but I hope she gets over him, because I’d like her for myself.”

“Really? You’ve never mentioned it before.”

“Well, my brother gets a Black sister, my best mate gets a Black sister, and I don’t? Doesn’t sound fair to me.”

“Oh, shut up. What do you think they are, some sort of veela?”

“Judging from the way you’re stuck on her, maybe.”

“Piss off,” muttered Lucius, but he had a hint of a stupid smile.

Severus liked to watch Lucius with Narcissa; they belonged together, he thought, and they made a sight for sore eyes as well, both of them pale and blond, tall and haughty, like a pair of ice sculptures. Perhaps one day, he and Lily could be like them too. He knew he wasn’t handsome and strong and confident like Lucius was, but maybe, just maybe, Lily wouldn’t mind. Because sometimes she would smile at him the same way that Narcissa smiled at Lucius - or so he convinced himself. And he so loved seeing that smile on her face.

“Don’t you have class, Snape?”

The voice behind him awoke him from his daydreaming. It was Evan Rosier, with Avery and Mulciber beside him.

“Uhm… Yes. I should get going.”

“We’re leaving too. Come on, hurry up.”

He walked with the other boys for a while, listening to them talk, like he always did. Mulciber was telling them all about the strategy devised by Quidditch captain Adrian Selwyn for the next game.

“Too bad that Bellatrix left the team this year,” said Avery. “She was one fine Beater.”

“Perhaps the team is better off without her,” mumbled Mulciber. “Were you there when she attacked Rabastan?”

“She didn’t attack him,” said Severus quietly. “She was about to, but she didn’t.”

Evan turned to look at him; he seemed to have forgotten that the first-year was with them. 

“Really? Were you there?”

Severus nodded.

“See, boys? The rumours aren’t true. My cousin didn’t hurt anyone.”

“I’m still relieved she’s not playing this year. I mean, knocking Hufflepuffs off their brooms is all fun and games, and no one is better at it than Bellatrix Black, but what if she turned against her teammates?”

“Shut it, Mulciber.” Evan seemed uncomfortable.

“How about your other cousin, then?” said Avery. “I heard she was taking Muggle Studies.”

“As a _joke_ , Avery, how many times do I have to tell you? Dromeda is taking Muggle Studies as a joke.”

“Yeah, I don’t see what’s funny about it,” said Mulciber.

“Me neither,” added Avery.

“Snape, isn’t this your classroom?” said Evan, trying to avoid the conversation.

“Oh, right,” said Severus, who had been carried away.

“See you later, then.”

“See you later.”

He sneaked into the History of Magic classroom, but Professor Binns, who was floating over his desk while lecturing them on goblin rebellions, didn’t even seem to notice that a student had arrived late for his class.


	7. Chapter 7

“But Sev, if I want to know what happens when I mix these things, then I’ll just go ahead and mix them! Why do we have to memorize them? It makes no sense.”

Despite being a prodigy in Potions, Lily found the theoretical aspect of the class incredibly boring. She had a natural talent for potion-making, often following her instinct while measuring or mixing ingredients, and she was usually successful with much less studying and effort than other students. But today they had been assigned to study basic ingredient reactions, and she wasn’t quite having it.

Severus smiled at her. “Well, in certain cases you have to already know how some ingredients will react if you mix them, otherwise you’ll have the cauldron blow up in your face, and we don’t want that, do we?”

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I guess.”

They had just leaned over the Potions textbook again when a ball of crumpled parchment hit the back of Severus’s head.

“Nice aiming, James! Straight to the rubbish bin!”

Severus didn’t turn around, because he knew exactly what he would see behind him in the corridor; James Potter gloating and Sirius Black laughing beside him. However, Lily stood up and walked over to the two boys.

“Leave him alone!” she yelled.

“It’s alright, Lily. Come back here, let’s get on with our homework,” said Severus, still not looking at them. He had tears in his eyes, and he didn’t want to give them another excuse to call him _Snivellus_.

“That’s right, _Lily_ , why don’t you go back and do homework with your _boyfriend_?” said Potter, pronouncing the last word with as much disdain as he could possibly manage.

“You know what, I will!”

“Fine then!”

“Fine!”

And she sat back down on the bench next to him, turning her back to the two boys.

Before Potter and Black had time to leave, Severus saw the silhouette of an older girl running down the stairs.

“Sirius!” she shouted, and the boy turned around.

“Dromeda?”

“Wait, don’t go! I looked for you everywhere, I even tried the Gryffindor common room but that portrait woman wouldn’t let me in! Quite a temper she’s got!”

Sirius chuckled as his cousin finally reached him, panting.

“I brought you these, from Hogsmeade. This one is from Honeydukes, and the other one from Zonko’s.” She winked and handed him two packages. “But don’t open them here, alright? Take them to your dorm. Filch would like nothing more than to confiscate them, especially that second one.”

The boy quickly opened his backpack and shoved the packages in. He then hugged his cousin very very tightly. “Thank you, Dromeda! You’re the best!”

She kissed the top of his head.

“What’s going on here?” another girl’s voice sounded behind them. “Why are you hugging the little scoundrel?”

It was Bellatrix. Once again, Severus thought that, despite his own dislike towards her, the seventh-year had a very valid point; Sirius Black was indeed a scoundrel at the very least.

“Oh, I didn’t know your Head Girl duties involved preventing people from hugging their little cousins,” said Andromeda calmly.

“Yeah, Bella, I didn’t know that either,” said Sirius, shielding himself behind Andromeda.

“Don’t you have a family to disappoint, Siri?” sneered Bellatrix. Her sister gave her an angry look. She then turned to the boy, ruffled his hair and leaned over to him.

“Now go, and don’t forget to tell me how you liked them, alright?”

He nodded, kissed her fleetingly on the cheek and ran off. James Potter followed him.

“Andy, I’m not here to fight,” said Bellatrix, her voice now softer.

“Oh? What are you here for, then?”

“I just… wanted to tell you I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? For what?”

“For… for pushing you, the other night. For a moment, I didn’t realize it was you. I didn’t mean to do it.”

“I know. It’s alright.”

“Did I… did I hurt you?”

“No, I barely felt anything.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you, Andy. It wasn’t personal. If Cissy had come in first, I probably would have pushed her instead.”

“Yeah, but that’s exactly the point; Cissy didn’t come in first, Bella. I did.” Severus could physically feel the hurt resonating from her, just like he could always sense other people’s strong emotions.

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that I’m always doing everything I can for you, and you don’t seem to appreciate it. It was me who prevented you from hurting Rabastan, me who ran into your dorm first when I heard you scream, me who confronted Rita Skeeter yesterday, and all I get in return is your mutually exclusive relationship with Little Miss Perfect. Well, I’m done with it. You two might as well go figure it out yourselves.”

“Andy, please, don’t talk like that. It isn’t true. You know I love you, and I need you as much as I need Narcissa.”

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to tend to your needs anymore, Bellatrix. It has always been someone else’s needs, hasn’t it? Narcissa’s, because she’s the youngest, and everybody’s sweetheart. Yours, because you are the perfect scion of the House of Black, and Aunt Walburga’s favourite. What about _my_ needs? Have you ever given a damn about them?”

There was a pained expression on Bellatrix’s face, much different from the one Severus had seen when she had been pointing her wand at Rabastan Lestrange. It was evident that she had nothing to say, no answer to give, no argument with which to fight against her sister’s accusations. And so Andromeda left, her pace steady, her head held high.

“Wow,” said Lily, who had been following the exchange. “Quite some drama in that house of yours.”

“Yeah,” said Severus. “They can’t help it, it’s a Slytherin thing; you have to be really dramatic.”

“You know who’s really dramatic? That Sirius Black. Can’t go five minutes without drawing all the attention to himself.”

“Maybe that’s why his family was so angry that he wasn’t sorted in Slytherin.”

“And even worse than him,” continued Lily, ignoring his remark, “is that Potter! I absolutely despise him! He thinks he’s a big gift to this world; such an arrogant, air-headed git!”

“Yeah, he’s horrible,” agreed Severus.

“I just can’t understand what his problem with you is! He’s really mean to you, Sev.”

“It’s alright, don’t worry about me. Come on now, let’s study Potions. Please.”

He didn’t like discussing the topic of how weak he was, and how he practically deserved to be called _Snivellus_ , since Potter and Black had an incredible ability at making his eyes water.

“Miss Evans? Mister Snape?”

They lifted their heads to see Professor Slughorn standing before them. His massive stomach appeared even larger than usual, and the buttons of his shirt seemed like they were about to pop. Severus estimated that either of them could easily lose an eye, since their faces were at button level.

“Good afternoon, professor,” said Lily.

“It’s a lucky coincidence that I found you here, my dears. I have been meaning to talk to you. You must know already that out of all my first-year students, you two are the most exceptional.”

“Thank you sir,” said Severus as he recalled Lucius’s words; Slughorn maintained an exclusive group of favourite students.

“Since you are both such talented young potioneers, I thought to reward you by inviting you to my annual Christmas party. It will be held in my office next Friday, at seven o’clock. You may bring a second person as your date, if you’d like.”

Lily looked absolutely astonished. “Will there be… other students?”

“Of course! Lots and lots of them. It’s going to be a ton of fun, Miss Evans, you don’t want to miss it! Are you two coming?”

“Yes sir, thank you for inviting us,” said Severus.

“Excellent! I shall be expecting you,” said Slughorn and winked.

“Why did you tell him we’d go?” Lily asked him after the professor had left.

“I’ve heard about Slughorn and his parties. He invites his favourite students, sort of like his inner circle. It will be good for us to earn his favour, and we might meet new people, make connections.” The real reason he had agreed so quickly was that he hoped to take Lily as his date to the party. But would she say yes? Did she have some stupid Gryffindor friend that she’d like to take instead?

“Hmm… Alright then. I trust you. So we’re going together, aren’t we?” She said it so naturally, as if any other possibility would be absurd; who else would they go with when they had each other? This made Severus feel a wonderful warm sensation well up in his belly.

“Of course we’re going together,” he assured her.

That same night, he rushed into the Slytherin common room, desperately looking for Lucius. He found him lounging on a sofa, reading a book.

“Lucius! Remember what you told me about Slughorn?”

Surprised, the fifth-year left his book aside.

“About the Slug Club, you mean?”

“Yes! He invited me to his Christmas party next week! Does that mean I’m in the Slug Club?”

Lucius looked impressed.

“Well, sort of. I think it’s more of an audition for the Slug Club, if you know what I mean. He wants to get to know you a little better before he decides whether or not you belong in his inner circle.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“It’s good for Slughorn, if anything. But yes, it’s good for you too! It means you must have done something right. Are you really talented at Potions?”

Severus gave a humble nod.

“Well, congratulations! First and foremost, it’s recognition. Besides, his Christmas parties are the least boring out of all his gatherings. They’re even fun at times, because there are decorations everywhere and we all dress up for the occasion… The food isn’t bad either.”

“D-dress up? Is it that formal?”

“It’s not the Yule Ball, but people like to wear nice clothes. Girls wear gowns, boys wear dress robes…”

The smile on Severus’s face withered.

“I… I haven’t packed any dress robes.”

“Well, why don’t you write to your family and tell them to send you a set? We still have time until the party.”

“No, Lucius, I… I don’t own any.”

The older boy remained silent for a moment, apparently trying to wrap his head around the fact that a person could possibly not own any dress robes. It must have seemed preposterous to him, because he maintained a genuinely sympathetic expression as he spoke to Severus.

“Well, in that case… I can lend you some of mine.”

“What? No, that won’t be necessary, thank you. I can’t possibly accept-”

“Nonsense! I’ve packed three sets, and I have dozens at home. Don’t worry about it, I’ll be happy to lend you a set, as long as you promise to keep it clean and tidy and not spill pumpkin juice all over it.” 

Severus realized that he’d have to accept Lucius’s offer; he had to make a good impression at the party, and if Lily turned up in a pretty dress, he had to be wearing something formal to match, and not his second-hand school robes. And so he followed the Slytherin prefect upstairs to his dormitory, where Lucius had him choose among his three sets of dress robes; green, blue, and purple. Every single one of them looked more expensive than Severus’s entire wardrobe.

“Would you like the green ones? I’ve worn green robes to the Christmas party before, so I didn’t intend to use them this year.”

“Uh… Sure. Yeah, I’ll have the green ones. Thanks, Lucius.”

“No problem. Here, hold them up and I’ll shrink them for you.”

The robes became smaller and smaller under Lucius’s wand, finally reaching the perfect size for the small boy.

“There you are. Now go to your dorm and try them on, and I’ll see them at the party - with you inside.” He winked at him, and Severus smiled gratefully. “Will you be bringing a date?”

The boy froze for a moment. He would be bringing a date alright, but his date was a Muggleborn Gryffindor, and Lucius certainly wouldn’t approve of her. Deciding to act all embarrassed and secretive, he nodded reluctantly.

“Hmm… You don’t want to tell me who it is?”

“Just a girl from my year.”

A smug smile was drawn on Lucius’s face.

“Alright then. You don’t have to tell me, I’ll see her anyway.”

Severus thought that perhaps Lucius wouldn’t recognize her, and that would spare him the humiliation.

“Thank you for the robes, Lucius. I’ll keep them nice and clean, I promise.”

He couldn’t wait to see how Lily would react to his new apparel; as he tried on the robes in the bathroom and admired himself in the mirror, he felt some of Lucius’s regal air pass through him. Perhaps they were a little too flamboyant for him, but they made him feel sure of himself. He took them off again and folded them carefully, eyeing them in excitement as he put on his old pyjamas. Severus couldn’t wait for Slughorn’s party now; he had beautiful clothes to wear, and a beautiful girl to go with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I'm not being melodramatic when I say that Severus feels the emotions of other people; it's a hint at him being a future Legilimens.
> 
> I hope y'all are enjoying my Lucius-in-leather-pants. It gets worse, I promise you (and by worse, I mean he becomes even more sympathetic).
> 
> Please be so kind as to leave me a review in the comments, it would literally give me the strength I need to begin writing the next chapter :) Thanks!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I let this chapter sit for a long time before deciding to post it. I'm not 100% happy with how it turned out, but I figured that overthinking kills the joy of writing fanfiction and finally uploaded it. I promise I have some very good material coming so do stick around! For now, enjoy this little short addition :)

Christmas was taking over Hogwarts. Hagrid, the gamekeeper, brought into the Great Hall twelve fir trees so enormous that even he looked rather small compared to them. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick covered them in magical frost and decorated them with hundreds of tiny glittering candles. Everyone was in a festive mood, including some of the ghosts who formed a choir and floated around singing Christmas carols, while even Peeves the poltergeist had included some seasonal insults in his mocking little songs.

 

There were several people waiting outside the Potions classroom when Severus arrived there, clad in Lucius’s expensive green robes and almost bouncing with excitement. Lily joined him a few moments later, and he couldn’t help but let his jaw drop when he saw her in her beautiful blue dress. Her red locks were gathered in a bun on top of her head, with some curls falling around her face. He took a deep breath in as she approached him and gave him her hand.

 

“Well,” she said, “let’s go inside, shall we?”

 

Slughorn’s office was adjoining to the classroom, and both rooms had now been decorated for the party. Lanterns hung from the ceiling and golden drapes covered the walls. There were tables with snacks and refreshments, as well as a couple of students carrying trays and serving drinks. A band of house elves was playing a merry tune and Professor Slughorn was standing beside them, smiling under his moustache and swinging his belly to the rhythm.

 

“You look beautiful in that dress,” Severus gave a shy compliment.

 

“Thanks! I didn’t know I would be needing formal clothes, but thankfully my mum thought to pack it for me.”

 

“It’s really nice.” He waited for a moment to see if she would return the compliment. Finally, he decided to ask her himself. “Do you like my robes?”

 

She examined him without saying a word.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“I don’t know, Sev, there’s just something… off about them. They make you look like a different person. Where did you get them?”

 

She would never believe him if he said he had bought them, so he chose to tell her the truth.

 

“Lucius Malfoy gave them to me.”

 

“Malfoy? I’m sick of hearing about him all the time. Now he’s giving you his clothes too? What are you, his pet?”

 

“Well, at least Lucius doesn’t mind having me around, unlike someone else I know!”

 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

 

“It means that you can’t ignore me half the time and then expect me to ask for your approval before I make other friends!”

 

“Severus, I…”

 

He ran away before Lily had time to finish her sentence, and blended into the crowd. He dodged a tall Hufflepuff who was carrying a platter of some oddly shaped snacks and hid behind one of the drapes. When he was sure that nobody could see him, he sat down on the floor and hid his face in his hands.

 

“Severus?”

 

He lifted his head to see Narcissa Black, looking like a snow queen in her long silver gown.

 

“Narcissa? Aren’t you with Lucius?”

 

“He’s over there with Rabastan, talking to Rodolphus Lestrange. I listened to them at first, but I got bored after a while.”

 

“Rodolphus Lestrange is here?”

 

“Yes, he came as Bellatrix’s date. He feared she might go with someone else, you see.” Narcissa pulled back the drape to show him a tall young man with wavy dark hair and a short beard. Bellatrix was proudly standing next to him in a tight-fitting black gown, as he was having a discussion with Lucius and Rabastan. “And what are  _ you _ doing back here?” she asked as she offered him her hand and helped him up.

 

“Hiding.” He carefully dusted his robes.

 

“Are those Lucius’s?”

 

“Yeah… I told him I didn’t have any, so he lent me his own.”

 

Narcissa smiled. “Of course he did. He likes you a lot, you know.”

 

Severus thought about Lily’s words. “Narcissa… May I ask you a question?”

 

“I’m all ears.”

 

“ _ Why _ does Lucius like me?”

 

The older girl remained silent for a few moments.

 

“Alright, I’ll tell you. But you must promise to never tell him anything about this. Do I have your word?”

 

“Yes! I promise.”

 

“Good. Well, it isn’t a happy story. You see, Lucius had a younger brother. His name was Hyperion, and they lost him when he was eight years old.”

 

Severus gasped. This was certainly not the answer he had been expecting, and he felt a little bad for his indiscretion.

 

“They wouldn’t let him have a real racing broom yet because he was too young. So he secretly took Lucius’s and sneaked out one night. But he lost control and fell off, from a great height. When they found him, it was already too late. I think he broke his neck.”

 

“That’s horrible,” whispered the boy.

 

“I told you, it isn’t a happy story. And well, this would have been his first year at Hogwarts. I believe Lucius sees his little brother in you, and that’s why he’s so friendly. But he really does like you; he says you’re a smart kid with potential. I mean, look at you; already one of Slughorn’s favourites!”

 

“Yeah…”

 

“Where’s your date, by the way? I saw you two come in; she’s a pretty ginger in a blue dress, isn’t she?”

 

Severus nodded.

 

“Oh Morgana… Is she the reason you’re hiding?”

 

He shook his head, but to no avail; Narcissa had already assumed the same smug expression that Lucius had when they discussed the issue of his date.

 

“Look! That’s her! I think she’s trying to find you.”

 

Severus crossed his arms and frowned. “Let her try.”

 

But Narcissa peeked out from the drape and called after Lily. “Excuse me, miss?”

 

Severus rolled his eyes.

 

Lily turned around, surprised to be addressed by Slytherin royalty. “Who, me?”

 

“Yes, you. He’s in here!” She pulled the drape and revealed Severus sulking in the corner. “You’re welcome,” she whispered to the boy before leaving him alone with Lily.

 

“Severus, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. Lucius Malfoy was very kind to give you his robes, and I shouldn’t have spoken ill of him. And I’m sorry that I’ve made you feel ignored; I never meant to.”

 

Severus knew he couldn’t hold a grudge against those beautiful green eyes of hers, not when they were looking at him imploringly like this. “I forgive you.”

 

“I want to make it up to you. Would you like to come to my house on Christmas?”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes! I’ll tell Mum and Dad, I’m sure they’ll be happy to have you!”

 

“I’d love to spend Christmas with you.” And he really meant it; perhaps for the first time he would have a proper Christmas, with a tree and presents and everything. He had thought of remaining at Hogwarts for the holidays, because going home didn’t really excite him as a prospect, but with Lily’s invitation things were different.

 

The two of them rejoined the party together, and Severus caught Narcissa winking at him from across the room. He shrugged at her, and she laughed. Oblivious to what it was that made his situation so amusing, he headed to the buffet. No Christmas party could ever be complete without a bit of a feast, and Slughorn certainly knew how to throw one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will not be revealing Bellatrix’s secret in this story. If you’re interested in finding out exactly what it is, you can always check out my side piece, “The Madness At Bay”, which I have posted as part of my Black sisters series, “Stars & Daffodils”. The series is set in the same timeline as this story, and focuses on Bellatrix, Narcissa and Andromeda through oneshots. I have put a lot of care and effort into it, and I’d love for you to check it out.


	9. A thank-you note

This isn't really a chapter, but more of a thank-you note to everyone who came all the way here. I would hate to leave you like this without saying goodbye. This small fic was an outlet of creativity for me some time ago, but I have lost the inspiration for it now and do not wish to continue it.

I am working on brand new and exciting things, experimenting with pairings and working with a good friend of mine to create something we both hope will stand out in the Harry Potter fanwork community; an ambitious AU named "The End of the Rainbow". So definitely look out for that, the very word "rainbow" should give you a clue about the tone it is set in.

Thank you so much for reading my story, I appreciate it very much and hope you enjoyed it! You can also read my short stories about the Black sisters, found in the "Stars and Daffodils" series.


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